Not That Easy
by HaughtFox
Summary: Nicole Haught is new in Purgatory. Things have been hard, but they're looking up. Waverly Earp will make sure of that. AU - Trigger Warning: Violence, Blood, Explicit Language and other content.
1. Chapter 1

Waverly Earp was working the Friday shift at Shorty's.  
It was just about to be 4 PM when she started setting up the bar and preparing for the most exhausting night of the week.

People in Purgatory liked their Saturday night but fucking loved Fridays. Everyone came straight from work and the exhaustion of the past 5 days made people feel like they definitely deserved that 4th large Beer and the 3rd shot of tequila.

Waverly hated the way people in this town behaved when they were drunk. Everyone thought they have more of a right to feel angry or lonely than the person sitting next to them and it made for at least two or three fights every Friday and Saturday.

She knew how to deal with them though. Someone always trying to grab her ass or touch her thigh or make inappropriate comments towards her and that made it easier to throw them out and sending them down a flight of stairs to at least have them take a few bruises home.

Something was different though about this Friday. I was warmer than usual and spring was just around the corner.

—

The bar was buzzing at 9 pm and you could feel a shift in energy somehow. People seemed nicer and happier. The winter was terribly cold and Purgatory lost some beloved

old timers. Pop Pop Will who owned the first grocery store to sell Lucky Charms in the area was buried just last week. He was a legend for the kids around town. He somehow always had a piece of candy for every child that said 'Hello' to him.

Waverly was overcome with a bit of sadness when suddenly the whole bar went silent. All you could here were a few coughs, the music and Wynonna Earp completely wasted shouting a story at Dolls about she once broke someone's jaw driving past them on her motorcycle, a bottle of whiskey in her hand that she then smashed into the guy's face "who totally deserved it because he just did you know!".

Though even she noticed the awkward silence after a minute and she and Dolls turned their heads to see what the town was looking at.

In through the door had just stepped Nicole Haught, walking slowly suddenly, spooked by the attention placed on her. She collects herself for a moment and then walked with the _"pride of the forefathers_ " that her dad would instil in her every morning before she went to school. Head high, but not arrogant, determined steps straight for the bar, straight for Waverly Earp.

A grey t-shirt with washed out 'NAVY' letters on them, some blue jeans and a pair of black sneakers was all it took to make Nicole look like the coolest girl in town.

 _She probably drives a really cool motorcycle,_ Waverly thought to herself.

 _Wait that doesn't even make sense just because she looks cool doesn't mean she drives a motorcycle seriously Waverly, get your shit together._

"Hello," Nicole says with a shy half-smile, still a bit uneasy with all eyes on her.

"Hey…,"

Waverly was so in awe of the tall redhead standing in front of her that she forgot herself for a minute but immediately snapped back into reality when she noticed the concerned look on the redhead's face.

"What can I get you tonight?". Waverly tilted her head to the side and gave the redhead a big smile.

Waverly was quirky and upbeat again, hoping it would help the bar get back to normal. She couldn't understand what the fuzz was about, unless it was about the beauty of the tall girl now sitting on a bar stool right across from Waverly. That she could understand.

"Can I have a really really big glas of your best bear and glas of your worst whiskey?" Nicole asked in a pretty serious tone now.

Waverly shot her a concerned look but served Nicole a beer and the cheapest of the three whiskeys the served. She made the glas a bit fuller, she sensed it was needed.

The redhead took a big sip of the whiskey and a small one of the beer to flush it down. It tasted horrible.  
The bar slowly began to get back to normal, only a few people stared and maybe whispered. Waverly was still confused, Nicole was just tired.

Throughout the rest of the night a few people left, lots more came in to play pool or drink but almost all of them stared at Nicole,.

Something was up. Normally Waverly had a good hunch about these kinds of things and working at the bar kept her in the loop if she wanted to or not. But she had no idea what all of this was about. She kept on giving a Nicole a little reassuring smile whenever their eyes met. Maybe it would help.

—

Gus tapped Nicoles shoulder to signal they're closing.

"Oh I'm sorry," Nicole said jolting up in her seat.

She was lost in thought. She didn't drink much all night, which she planned on doing, especially today. Waverly quietly signalled to Gus that it's alright, to let the woman who was still a stranger to her, sit for a while longer. Gus shrugged her shoulders and continued to lead old drunks up the stairs and out the door. The younger ones she'd just kick if they weren't moving fast enough.

Another hour passed and at 3 AM Waverly was done breaking down the bar, cleaning up and putting their earnings in the safe above the bar.

"Hey listen, I really need to go home soon so I have to ask you to slowly prepare to go out into the cold," Waverly says with a smile that contained more pity than anything else.

Nicole got up, put 20 bucks on the bar and nodded a goodbye to Waverly. She was tired, exhausted and sad.  
This isn't how she wanted her first night in the new town to be.

Waverly's eyes followed the redhead until she vanished into the dark.  
She picked up the 20 Dollars and noticed writing along the edges.

It read: " _Thank you for making this day a bit more bearable, Waverly Earp."_


	2. Chapter 2

Waverly couldn't sleep that night. Meeting Nicole, if you could call it that, left her with a weird feeling. How did she know her name? She's never seen her around town before that night.

And why was everyone looking at her?

She knew she'd find out sooner than later. She just hoped it's nothing that would make her not like the redhead.

It was just about 6:00 AM when Waverly got dressed to head out to the diner and get some coffee. If she couldn't sleep might as well make the most of this Saturday.

It was raining outside. She put on her hood and took quick steps to the diner that was two blocks down the road. When she got there, Mary just opened up and greeted Waverly with a tired smile.

She was sitting in a booth at the window with her coffee when someone outside sprinted past the diner and on to the empty parking lot.

In shorts and a T-Shirt, Nicole Haught was working out like a maniac. It looked like the drills Waverly would see on TV about some army boot camp. She was soaking wet and had an exhausted look on her face. After 20 Minutes of staring Waverly got worried. She went outside, it was freezing cold in the rain.

"You know, we have a YMCA not far from here!" Waverly called to Nicole.

The redhead stopped what she was doing and looked at her.

"Good Morning, Waverly Earp", she said with a small smile and jogged over to her to stand under the roof. You could see the tiredness in her eyes and she was shivering from the cold.

"It's not open yet, and I've exercised in worse conditions. This is fine."

"Well that's great for you but I'd rather have the girl who gave me a 10 Dollar tipp yesterday not die from a lung infection", Waverly scoffed more than she wanted to, one eyebrow raised.

"So chop chop, soldier, that's an order!", pointing to the diner door.

 _'Chop Chop Soldier', seriously Waverly what the fuck is wrong with you?!_

Nicole's face looked both surprised and bemused at the bossiness of the tiny person standing in front of her. But she obliged.

—

So there they were, a soaking wet Nicole and a worried Waverly Earp, looking at each other sheepishly over the table, fidgeting with sugar packets, like they were teenagers on a blind date.

Waverly had not thought this through at all and was now awkwardly staring at the table.

"I'mwaverlyearp!" her hand shoots across the table and hovered in the air. Her heart was racing suddenly. Nicole slowly reached for her hand and shaked it. Her grip was firm but her hands were still freezing cold. It made Waverly shiver for a second.

"Nicole Haught" she smiled. She was exhausted, but it wasn't the cold or the 7 Miles she already ran today. Something sat deep and it hurt.

As Waverly let go of Nicole's hand she noticed the small scars on her arms. It must have been 30 or 40 of them, tiny little cuts all across her Arms up to her T-Shirt sleeve.

Nicole noticed the other woman starring and started rubbing her arms in discomfort.

After a few minutes of silence she says "Well it was nice meeting you, Waverly Earp."

She got up, gave Waverly a polite nod and thanked Mary for the towel she brought over for her when they came inside.

Before Waverly could say anything or apologize for starring, the redhead had left and jogged down the street. There was an incredible amount of strength in each one of her steps.

— — —

The rain had stopped by noon and the sun came out and it was hot. Waverly never missed an opportunity to wear shorts and her favorite top that always slid off her shoulders.

She didn't really care about the attention she got, wanted or unwanted, but the outfit made her feel good and sexy and ready for anything. One thing she wasn't ready for was running into Nicole Haught, or to be precise: Nicole Haught running into her. With full force.

"Oh shit fuck I'm so sorry are you okay fuck!" Nicole was standing over Waverly, who was laying on her back, head spinning. She hit her head pretty hard and the first thing coming out of her mouth was "Oranges."

"Oranges?" Nicole asked confused.

She grabbed Waverly's hands and pulled her up so she could sit. Their faces were only an inch apart now and Nicole's eyes shot down to Waverly's lips and up to her eyes again.

"Why'd you do that?" Waverly pouted, still dizzy.

"It wasn't on purpose I… I was running and I didn't see you, I'm so sorry." Nicole was starting to shake and let go of Waverly's hands. She rubbed her face to get a clear head "Okay first aid, you're bleeding, I'll get you to the hospital."

"Nuh uh, no way!"

The word 'Hospital' sent Waverly into a panic.

"I can't go there, I really can't, it smells weird a-a-and they have needles and I really, really, REALLY hate needles!" she had tears in her eyes. She still felt dizzy.

Why was Nicole panicking? She knew first aid, she knew more than that!

She put one arm under Waverly's legs, the other one around her hip.

"Hold on tight," she said in a calm voice. As soon as Waverly leaned into her and held on,

Nicole wasn't panicking anymore. She was the calmest she's been in a long while.

She carried he to her car, passing what seemed like half the town, and put her in the passenger seat of her black Ford Bronco. Waverly noticed the smell of lavender.

"Shit you're still bleeding," Nicole said concerned. She took off her T-Shirt, rolled it up and pressed on the back of Waverly's head. "Hold it like this and press really hard."

Waverly didn't listen, she looked at Nicoles toned stomach and the light freckles that covered her entire body… and the scars.

The same as on her arms.

—

Nicole lead Waverly up the steps to her house. It was small but beautiful. Waverly never payed it any attention, but it had tall trees around it, giving it some sort of privacy. Privacy Nicole seemed to need.

She was feeling less dizzy and the bleeding had almost stopped. It wasn't that bad of a wound and Waverly felt quite comfortable on the comfy couch, despite the arsenal of utensils Nicole had laid out before her.

"Okay it's a sting and two little stitches. If it hurts too much just grab my thigh, don't worry about hurting me."

 _I'd never hurt you_ Waverly thought.

Waverly nervously set her hand just above Nicole's knee. She turned her head away from her so the redhead could tend to her wound. It hurt more than she expected and her nails dug through Nicole's thigh.

After two minutes Nicole announced: "There, all done. Shouldn't even leave a scar. I took my time."

"Thank You" said Waverly sheepishly. She was embarrassed for some reason.

"Again I'm really so sorry for running you over…" Nicole looked at the floor.

She came to this town to keep her head down, to live without complications and the last thing she wanted was everyone's favorite bar tender to hate her.

"Hey, it's okay", Waverly now had both hands on her thigh. She looked at her with the kindest eyes.

"You made it all better, no harm no foul."

Nicole blushed. It was a while since someone looked at her like that or touched her so gently.

—

"You can just drop me off here."

They were standing in front of the homestead.

Nicole got out, walked around the car and opened Waverly's car door. "I'd rather walk you inside, you still seem a little unsteady. If I may." She was nervous again. Standing at attention, looking straight ahead. She fell into old Army habits whenever she was unsure. It gave her something to hold on to, to not fall apart.

"Relax, okay you can walk me inside."

Waverly was more amused than anything else but she also felt bad. What has this woman gone through to be so on edge and so nervous. She hooked into Nicoles arm and let her walk her inside.

"FINALLY WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU I WAS WORRIED SICK!"

Wynonna came stomping into the living room.

"I'm fine, don't worry."

"I GET A CALL FROM MARY SAYING SHE SAW YOU BLEEDING AND YOU WEREN'T AT THE HOSPITAL AND I COULDN'T REACH YOU ON YOUR PHONE!"

"Ms. Earp, I have to apologize. I knocked her over and she didn't want to go to the hospital so I offered to do it myself." She was standing straight again, eyes straight at Wynonna, hands behind her back.

"Oh great who do you think you are, a doctor?!" Wynonna wasn't shouting anymore but she was still mad. Since she got back to Purgatory a couple of months ago she felt protective like never before over Waverly. She was gone too long.

"I failed to introduce myself. My name is Nicole Haught. Veteran Special Forces Officer with the 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces Regiment. I am not a doctor, Ma'am, but I have all necessary medical training."

Waverly looked at her with big eyes, mouth open.

"Oh… well then…" Wynonna was clearly embarrassed. "Thank you."

There was a tear running down Nicole's cheek. It has been a while since she had to say that sentence. It's been a year and one day exactly. It instantly threw her back to the day she was standing next to 3 coffins. The day she buried her comrades, her friends.

—


	3. Chapter 3

_(Disclaimer: all I know about the Army (or Baseball stats) I know from Google. Please excuse any inaccuracies.)_

It was the hottest day in three months.

"We cleared this area of land mines on my last tour. It was crazy."

"Yeah we did the same about 50 miles from here and it seemed impossible.

Sometimes you feel like the ground will just open up and you're going straight to hell."

"I feel like we're going to hell anyway."

"It's our job. It's not the best, but not the worst."

"I guess."

"Why are we actually patrolling this part? I thought there's nothing here anymore."

"There isn't but apparently shit gets dropped here every once in a while and picked up and

maybe we'll find a box of tennis socks or guns or whatever they need in their caves."

"I don't know how I'm gonna make it 10 miles back in this heat."

"It's technically only been 9 and a half."

"Shut up, Schmidt."

"You're feisty today, Haught. Is it too 'Haught'?"

"Yeah yeah, as far behind as you guys are it might as well be half a mile!" she laughed.

First there was a roaring sound that quickly became deafeningly loud.

Next there was complete darkness.

—

The sun was slowly setting when Nicole Haught woke up. Her ears were ringing, she was disoriented and dizzy. Her whole body was stinging. She wanted to draw her weapon but was stopped by a excruciating pain in her shoulder. It was dislocated.

 _Okay Nicole, let's do this. Most hits: Pete Rose. Most strickouts: Reggie Jackson. Most runs scored: Rickey Henderson. Highest batting average_

With popped her shoulder back in. She gritted her teeth not to scream.

"Ty Cob.. .366", she whispered.

The pain slowly went away. Her weapon drawn, she finally examined her surroundings.

Just a few feet away from her she could see two bodies. Or whatever was left of them.

This would have been the moment to panic. But that's not what she was trained for.

Stevens and Morales. Dead. Without a doubt.

Stevens' name was still readable on the uniform.

His body got blown apart. Guts burnt, hanging out of right side of the bit of torso. The smell was almost worse than the sight. There was nothing left of the rest.

Morales' body was apparently hit the most direct because all that was left was part of his head, and the left side of his upper body. But his bleach blonde hair made him instantly recognizable.

Czezsky was farther away.

The shock wave of the missile sent him flying against a big rock. His skull was smashed open. When Nicole noticed Schmidt next to him, he looked as pale as a ghost.

"He's dead."

"Are you okay!" she shouted over to him.

"I broke a few ribs, got a burn on my right thigh but other than that I think I'm okay!"

When he went to grab his weapon, he noticed that he couldn't. There was nothing to grab it with.

Most of Schmidt's left arm was blown of, bleeding down his uniform, forming a puddle on the floor.

When he looked down, he panicked. The scream escaping his mouth was one of desperation, pain and fear.

 _Most homeruns: Barry Bonds_

Nicole ran over to Schmidt, she took out the medical kit, and started to work on his arm.

"I will stop the bleeding as much as I can, we'll cover-" She was interrupted. Schmidt was screaming at the top of his lungs. She had never seen him like this. But then again, this is the worst situation they've all been in. 3 of them were dead. Schmidt lost a limb and was bleeding profusely. Boone… what about Boone?

"Schmidt, I need you to concentrate: where is Boone? Can you see him?"

He was confused and in pain.

"SCHMIDT I NEED YOU HERE OKAY!" She shouted at him to get his mind off his arm.

She couldn't handle this alone.

"I- I- I can't… I can't see him", he stammered. "No I got him is that's him, he's over there!"

Nicole stopped the bleeding on his arm as much as she could. She started to clean up his thigh so she could patch it up a bit.

"Haught, I got it! Go and see if Boone is till alive." the fentanyl she gave him finally kicked in.

She nodded, glad to have Schmidt at least a bit clear and distracted from his arm, or that what was left of it.

Boone was still breathing, but he couldn't speak. His whole body was burnt. Blisters festering everywhere.

It seemed like forever for her to get im ready to be transported in any way.

Schmidt had dragged Czezsky over to Nicole. They wrapped him in one of their drag stretchers and Boone in the other one.

"If I tie him on a stretcher, do you think you can drag Czezsky?"

"Yeah, he's a lightweight."

She pulled Boone onto the other stretcher.

Their radios were broken. The Army didn't see in necessary to get more robust once since _"not enough failed to justify better ones."_

 _My old Nokia would have survived this._ Nicole needed a bit of humor right now.

She looked at Czezsky's body. He looked peaceful. Nicole knew his family well. Their father's had fought together.

She went to Stevens' and Morale's bodies. It didn't take her long to find their dog tags. She had to bring back something. Half burnt sticking out of Stevens' jacket pocket was a picture of his wife. They had just gotten married 4 months ago.

Schmidt had emptied his backpack of anything they wouldn't need and filled it with whatever he could find that was still drinkable and edible. Scrambling through body parts and backpacks to find medical pack leftovers.

"They better give us a medal for this… or a free pass to heaven."

Nicole had to laugh harder at that than she intended to. But it lifted their spirits a bit.

It was almost dark.

Nicole was pulling Boone.

Schmidt followed with Czezsky.

Her body still felt like it was on fire.

—

Boone died first. They checked for his breathing regularly. The first 6 hours he seemed as fine as

he could be in his state. When Nicole checked the next time, he was gone.

"It shouldn't be far now", Nicole said when she heard Schmidt cursing behind her.

"WE'RE GOING SOUTH! FUCK!" Schmidt fell to his knees and hit his head with his palm.

"Schmidt- what the-", Nicole didn't finish the sentence. They should be heading west.

They got turned around and were heading in the wrong direction for 6 hours. They were way off course. The search party would take ages to find them. If there was one. They were set to be gone for a while. After all, the area was supposed to be safe.

 _Lowest WHIP Pedro Martínez_

She could see he was getting weaker.

—

They soon set up camp. They needed the rest. At the rate they were going because of Schmidt's leg, dragging Boone and Czezsky and factoring in their detour, they'd need at least 10 more hours.

Schmidt took first watch.

When Nicole woke up 4 hours later, he was dead.

—


	4. Chapter 4

She had carried Czezsky, or that what was left of him, strapped to her back. In each hand she held a rope dragging Schmidt and Boone behind her.

3 miles outside of camp they finally found her, her body burning up under a blood soaked uniform. Most of it was her's. She was covered in shrapnel.

When she was 13 years old, her biggest dream was being awarded a medal for being brave.

She couldn't have imagined at what cost that dream would become true.

—

She was still standing in the Homestead living room, arms still behind her back, looking straight ahead. You could see the tears rolling down her cheeks, along her jaw and down her neck. But her voice didn't shake once telling the story of what happened 366 days ago.

Wynonna felt ashamed for asking _"why they kicked her out"_. For the first time in a long while she didn't know what to say. Instead, she poured three glasses of Whiskey.

Waverly however, knew exactly what to do.

Her thumbs wiped the tear off of Nicole's cheeks and when Nicole looked down at Waverly, she encountered the kindest eyes.

Waverly took Nicole's hands from behind her back and held them in hers. Neither of them thought something so simple could feel so intimate.

Wynonna felt she was hovering and decided feeling ashamed at Shorty's is a much better idea.

—

Now it was Waverly Earp's turn to bring home Nicole.

Nicole drove in silence. Both hands on the steering wheel. Waverly's hand on her lap.

She felt so sad yesterday. Sad and angry and guilty. It was like that every day since she got home, but that day was especially hard.

She tried to release at least the anger. She almost knocked out a kid named Champ at the gym, because he had challenged her to a Boxing match, but it didn't help. Maybe if she'd see him with that black eye she gave him, she'd feel that relief. But when she did, embarrassed in front of his friends at Shorty's, it only made her feel guiltier.

But then something changed.

Nicole was getting pain killers at the local pharmacy when a brunette got to the register just seconds before her. What she bought amused Nicole. Band-Aids with kittens on them, Flintstones vitamins and a pack of condoms.

The clerk looked at her with a hint of disgust.

Nicole looked at her like she'd never seen another human before.

—

When they got to Nicole's house Waverly insisted on at least make her something to eat.

The kitchen was bleak. Almost like the rest of the apartment. Waverly just now noticed how clean, how sterile everything was. There were no pictures on the wall. No personal belongings. Just a neatly folded American flag on a side table and a couple of magazines. 

"AH!" Waverly exclaimed. "I found tomato soup and noodles." 

Nicole gave her a small smile. She watched as Waverly opened every drawer and cupboard looking for pots and utensils. Whenever Nicole wanted to help her she just raised a hand and gestured her to shut up.

Nicole liked watching Waverly.

Whenever a bit of skin was exposed between Waverly's shorts and shirt Nicole couldn't stop staring at it. And she couldn't stop staring at those legs. And that neck. And the lips, oh the lips got her bad. She wanted to lick and bite them, one hand in the short brunette's panties and the other one grabbing her hair. She imagined Waverly Earp, pants down bent over the kitchen counter, legs spread, dripping wet and- 

"Soup's ready!" 

A chipper Waverly appeared in front of Nicole before she could finish the thought.

She was looking at her, mouth open. She didn't have these kinds of thoughts in a very very long time. 

"Aw you poor thing…" Waverly put the bowls down in the living room and sat Nicole next to her on the couch. 

"It's okay, you don't have to eat it now. I can warm it up for you later," Waverly said to her while stroking her hands. 

Waverly's lips seemed to move in slow motion and before Nicole new it she was kissing them.

The leftover taste of tomato soup from when Waverly made sure it wasn't too salty, mixed with some lip balm that was way too sweet for Nicole's taste but on Waverly she liked it. One hand on Waverly's hip she pulled her closer ran her tongue along the brunette's lower lip.

Waverly was taken aback for a few seconds but Nicole pulling her in excited her.

She climbed on to Nicoles lap, straddling and kissing her the way she knew made all the boys in town crazy. You could hear a little 'Fuck' escaping Nicole's lips. The control she thought she had in this situation had passed over to Waverly.

Her hands were on Waverly's hips when she felt her body relinquish the last bit of control and suddenly it smelled like sand. 

Sand and rotting flesh. 

She pushed Waverly off her with full force and the woman that was so much more delicate than her fell hard on the ground, her face shocked.

Nicole was hyperventilating, her fingers now buried in her thighs, her face red and her vision blurry. 

"SCHMIIIIDTT!" She was screaming at the top of her lungs.

"SCHMIDT WE HAVE TO GO YOU HAVE TO GET UP. GET THE FUCK UP!" 

She was now towering over Waverly who hadn't moved an inch.

Nicole was just screaming in agony and tears were streaming down her face.

Waverly jumped up and wrapped herself around Nicole as best as she could.

Nicole was incredibly strong and Waverly had trouble pinning the read head's arms to her side.

"Nicole, I'm here, okay? You're at home, you're at home, you're not there, you're at home and you're safe. You're at home and you're safe."

—

It felt like hours when Waverly stopped whispering the words to Nicole, whom she was cradling in her harms. She had said it over and over until it became almost like a mantra.

She had lead Nicole into the cold, almost empty bed room and they were sitting on the large hard mattress, a thin scratchy blanket wrapped around them.

 _Why do you punish yourself like this_

Waverly wasn't sure what she was doing, but it seemed to work. Nicole was exhausted and half asleep when Waverly helped her into her pyjamas, trying not to stare at the scars covering almost her whole body. She helped herself to some shorts and a T-Shirt out of Nicole's dresser.

When she took them out of the drawer she noticed something hard sticking out of a folded up cloth.

It was a piece of metal, shaped almost like an arrow head, about an inch big. There was dried blood on it.

 _The pain she must have gone through_ Waverly thought.

It was hard to hold back her tears. She wanted to make it better.

When a very sleepy Nicole cuddled up to her, wrapping her arms around her torso and laying her head on her chest with a small smile on her lips, Waverly hoped she made it better.

At least for today.

—


	5. Chapter 5

Waverly woke up to the smell of pancakes and coffee. When she looked at the clock on the bedside table it was just 07:00 AM.

 _Are you kidding me? It's a Sunday!_

She wasn't used to waking up this early. Normally she had the Saturday night shift at Shorty's but she called in sick because she wanted to stay with Nicole.

 _Maybe I should do that more often_ she thought to herself.

She sat up and examined her surroundings, now with a clearer head. It was still quite cold. There was nothing really of Nicole here, she felt like. Granted, she knew her for not even 48 hours.

Normally she either became kind of friends with someone in that time (but nothing more) or she fucked them once, twice if it was great the first time around. But this was different. She felt an immediate protectiveness for Nicole. And some sort of pity, if she was being honest. But she was also attracted to her, or at least she hoped so. Maybe it was a _'Oh my God that poor little puppy'_ thing but she wasn't sure.

 _I need to figure this out._

What was more important though was the growl in her stomach. She got up and walked into the kitchen. Nicole was in slim black sweatpants and a grey sweater. She looked so cool and sexy at the same time. Waverly took a few moments to watch how gracefully and with which care the tall woman filled the pancake dough into the pan. The stack next to the stove looked perfect.

"Do you wan't some coffee?" Nicole turned her head to Waverly with a smile.

"Oh… yes please," said Waverly in a shy manner. Did she get caught starring?

While Nicole was waiting for the last pancake to be done and Waverly was sipping on a delicious cup of coffee, she suddenly said "Listen, I'm sorry about yesterday. I kinda got carried away and I didn't consider that it might have been to much, you know with climbing on you like that and all… and I wanted to say I'm sorry I freaked you out or like… triggered something, I guess? I mean, I don't know because I don't know what make you feel the way you did yesterday but I don't want to do or say anything that freaks you out and yeah… I don't know."

Nicole looked at her attentively. When she noticed Waverly didn't have anything more to say, she took a deep breath and replied: "It's not your fault, Waverly. I am the one who should be, and is, sorry about yesterday. I pushed you and that is not okay. I approached you by kissing you and that gave you the signal that and maybe more is okay with me and I shouldn't have done that. Because I know how I can be in those situations when things get… heated." She had a shy smile on her face but got serious again a few seconds later. "I felt something yesterday, or actually the day before, when I saw you at the pharmacy… and it's been quite a while and I don't know exactly what it is but I just went with it and abandoned my better judgement a bit… or actually a lot. And that wasn't okay because I put you in a harmful situation. And I'm sorry."

She was very earnest and proper. Waverly liked that about her.

She walked toward the redhead, who was fidgeting with the string of her sweat pants, hugged her, head on her chest and said: "We're good, Nicole. Let's just take things slow maybe? Until you actually feel comfortable with another person coming that close."

Nicole put her arms around her in return, chin on the tiny brunette's head.

"Thank you", she said relieved and happy.

Wynonna came by in the afternoon and brought them ice cream. Partly because she felt bad, partly due to the fact that Waverly sent her 14 text messages that all read 'BRING US ICE CREAM'.

She only stayed long enough to exchange a few sentences with Nicole, to make sure they're alright, and to check on Waverly. She didn't want her sister to be in any situation that was to emotionally draining. But somehow she had a good feeling about Nicole. Maybe a more serious friend would be good for Waverly. After all, she heard the rumors about her sister being quite promiscuous. She wasn't one for slut shaming, but definitely didn't want her sister to catch a broken heart… or an STD.

Nicole and Waverly spent the rest of the day watching TV. Waverly gave Nicole a quick, one hour long run down on what happened on the first 11 Seasons of Keeping up with the Kardashians and suggested Nicole should catch up until next Sunday so they can watch the first new episode together. Nicole was clearly overwhelmed by the huge amount of new information.

The only thing she kept up with was sports. Any kind of sport. That's all she watched because it was exciting but familiar.

When it got to about 9 PM, Nicole was getting tired and Waverly knew she had to help out Gus to fix a few things around the bar in the morning. Gus hated getting help from people she didn't really trust and Shorty was out of town for a few weeks to visit his brother.

"I mean, I'm not a stranger to work, I'll change my own tire, thank you, but I don't even know what most of the stuff means she put on my to do list." Waverly crossed her arms and pouted.

"When are you starting?"

"Around 9 AM. I'm not even getting paid. Which, I mean, it's fine, Gus did more for me than I could ever repay her, but it's not helping my motivation…"

"I'll be there to help. I mean, if you think that's okay with her… and you of course."

"If you're with me I'm sure she won't mind but are you sure? It's a lot of stuff and will probably take forever."

"The doctors said I should keep busy and because _''working out and watching Baseball''_ apparently doesn't count", she said with a chuckle "it would be a good thing."

Waverly's face lit up "Okay awesome! Meet me there at 8:30?"

—

Waverly was on top of her, panting and biting her lips. She could see the beads of sweat running down her chest, her eyes fixed on Nicole's. Nicole's hand were on her hips, firm and strong but without hurting her. Nicoles breasts were immaculate. Waverly was wondering if the beautiful woman between her legs could feel how wet she was. Nicole was moving with Waverly's grinds and with every time they became more in synch. Nicole wrapped her Arms around Waverly and in a quick and smooth swoop had her on her back. Now Waverly's legs were around her hips and Nicole was thrusting in the other woman. The movement made Waverly crazy and even wetter than she was before. Nicole was now leaning over her, one hand keeping her steady just above Waverly's body then other one… where was the oth-

"Ooohh my god…". Waverly's rolled her eyes. The moment Nicole put her fingers inside of her was a pure revelation. With every thrust of fingers, every lick of a tongue over her nipples, every bite to the neck and every kiss felt like tiny soft firecrackers exploding under her skin.

Her moaning got louder and noticing Nicole react with a pleased smile every time Waverly called out her name made Waverly all the more happier about her current situation.

She was so close when she heard a faint bang. And another one. And another one.

"WAVERLY EARP DID YOU STEAL MY LEATHER JACKET AGAIN?"

Wynonna only knocked one more time before she bursted into room.

Waverly was alone, in her PJs, wrapped up in her blanket.

"Great, thanks!" Wynonna said with a triumphant smile when she found her favorite Jacket hanging over Waverly's chair. She grabbed it and left the room, closing the door with a loud bang.

Waverly was definitely awake now and quickly came to the realisation that she just had the best dream ever.

But that's all it was, a dream.

—


	6. Chapter 6

Waverly arrived at Shorty's at 10. An hour late, which Gus was going to be mad about. And one and a half hours late to meet Nicole. Which Waverly was mad about.

Inside Gus and Nicole were already working away.

"Well if it isn't Waverly Earp, gracing us with her presence." Gus had her hands on her hips but looked less angry than Waverly had expected.

"I did the first coat of paint on the doors, they're drying out back and all the metal and plastic is sorted so they can just pick it up tomorrow. I think the lights should-", Nicole noticed Waverly had walked in.

"Hey", she said with a smile.

"Hey", Waverly gave her a shy smile back.

"How… uhm…are you… what's up?" Nicole tried to sound casual and tanked.

"Yeah cool I'm great, yup." She was rocking back and forth on her heels. She followed up with a quick "How's it hang- I mean, how are you doing?"

"Yep, all good. Super great."

They were still standing there just looking at each other across the bar.

They got interrupted by an "Okaaay, we're all doing great. Isn't that lovely." Gus smiled and then her face turnt serious. "You," pointing at Waverly "are late. So chop chop."

"You," looking at Nicole, her face turned kind "are my favorite. Waverly, you could learn something from this one. She was here at 8 and already did more in two hours than good old Robert did in a year."

Nicole was turning red and got back to her task.

Waverly knew her job already: cleaning the whole bar.

They worked away to the radio playing for a couple of hours. Nicole was doing everything with such precision and care and crossed one thing after another off her to do list.

It motivated Waverly to do the same and she even cleaned the spots she knew no one checked.

 _This is good, super easy._

Waverly was cleaning the taps when she got splashed by on of the broken ones. Her shirt was completely drenched. "Gosh darn it!"

Nicole was leaning on the bar. "I didn't know Shorty's held wet t-shirt contests", she said with a mischievous smile.

"Veeery funny, Nicole!" She fished a 'Shorty's Salon' shirt out from under the bar and tried to get out of her wet top. She got caught in it for a second but managed to get out somehow.

When she was able to see again, Nicole was standing in front of her. There were only two inches between them and when Waverly tried to say something Nicole grabbed the 'Shorty's' T-Shirt, threw it behind her and grabbed Waverly, lifted her up like it was nothing and sat her on the back bar.

"What happened to taking it slow?"

"Fuck it."

Nicole was kissing her so intensely that she was throwing over glasses, trying to find something to hold on to. Nicole was biting her neck, hard, and Waverly buried her fingers in Nicole's hair.

"When I'm done with you there'll be now way you can still stand behind this bar tonight." Nicole looked at her hungrily.

"Oh really, how are you going to-" she felt her bra pop open. "-do that…" she looked at Nicole, a bit surprised but very very turned on. The redhead went straight for the kill and pushed her hand under Waverly's skirt, past the lacy panties and-"

"If you keep doing that you'll put a hole in the bar."

Nicole was standing on the other side of the bar, noticeably amused by Waverly daydreaming and polishing the same spot on the bar for almost 10 Minutes.

"Can I have a glass of water?"

"Uhm, sure", the still confused, and slightly horny, brunette said.

She poured a glass of water and with a shaking hand put it down in front of Nicole.

"Are you okay? Have you eaten yet?"

"I'LL MAKE US SOMETHING", Gus shouted from the kitchen.

 _Are. You. Fucking. Kidding. Me._

—

Nicole had painted the doors, separated the trash in the back lot, exchanged broken cables, fixed the beer tap, and sorted the boxes in the basement into some kind of an order. Gus was very pleased the with the new girl in town and made sure to let Waverly know while they were having a late lunch. Waverly was clearly embarrassed, she basically only cleaned the bar, swept the floor and wiped the tables down, something she normally does in under an hour.

Nicole was acting modest, but was secretly very proud of having done so much work and helping Gus. Gus was though but seemed to have a heart of gold, and Nicole felt it could come in handy

to have her on her good side.

Waverly loved her though, even when Gus was hard on her. Maybe rightfully so.

"Gus, why did everyone look at me that evening I came into the bar that first time?"

The question wasn't expected and Gus was taken aback for a second.

She was clearly feeling uneasy about the question but gathered herself and answered: "A few vets here still have good friends in the force and people talk and are nosey and having a girl in her mid twenties who is as decorated as you are move to Purgatory is quite unusual."

Nicole thought about that for a second. "Huh", she said, paused and then continued "I guess it is quite of an odd choice. But, it's… it's not really. Not for me. I mean, a bit. But there's a reason why I chose to come here."

Waverly and Gus looked at each other, while Nicole was fidgeting around with the hem of her shirt.

"It sounds dumb. When I was 13 years old I was actually in Purgatory once. We were on a camping trip and my dad's car broke down not far from here and it would take at least a day or two to repair. So I walked around town, bored out of my mind. And I saw this house at the edge of town, with these broken stairs leading up to it. It was painted blue and had a yellow, rusty mailbox. It must have been empty for years and I climbed in through a broken back window and just sat on the floor, imagining who lived there and how their lives were. Wondering if there ever lived a girl in the house that was angry at her dad because her mom left or that was struggling to figure out who she is. I wanted it to be a happy place but my thoughts kept turning it into a sad house.

I promised to myself that one day I'd buy that house and fill it with happiness."

Nicole felt good about sharing that. It made her feel more solid in her choice. Moving away from the base wasn't easy. Not having anything to do wasn't easy. Finishing weekly therapy sessions wasn't easy. Meeting new people wasn't easy.

Nicole felt happy in that moment. Gus got up and squeezed her shoulders.

"You're a keeper." She turned her head to Waverly, giving her an urgent look as to say 'take good care of this one.'

They finished up a few little tasks and called it a day.

—

When Waverly worked the shift the next Wednesday, she hadn't seen Nicole since they fixed up Shorty's the few days before.

She knew they had agreed to take it slow for Nicole's sake but Waverly found it progressively harder to concentrate on work when all she could think about these big brown eyes looking at her while she got fucked into oblivion. She tried to distract herself by thinking of some really good sex she had in the past but any time she thought she found a good fuck to think about, she noticed how mediocre it actually was. They were all fast, foreplay was non-existent and the orgasms were… alright. Not as good as when she just did it herself. For the first time in her life she was more excited by the thought of what someone might make her feel than by what she could do to the other person. She was so ready to just let the tall redhead do whatever to her.

 _God Waverly Earp, stop behaving like a total slut_ she thought to herself.

She felt bad for a second but the next one she already thought about how badly she wanted to be exactly that for Nicole. The physical strength she noticed in Nicole turned her on. It scared her that one moment in Nicole's living room but whenever she noticed it in other situations she wanted to know what it feels like. That strength, on top of her, inside her.

It was about 11 PM when Nicole came stumbling into the par, a gaping wound on her cheek.


	7. Chapter 7

Her head was throbbing. She couldn't move the muscles on her face. Something felt like it was burning. She was about two blocks away from Shorty's but there was no one on the street this late.

She couldn't call for help because the slightest movement of her face caused her an incredible amount of pain. She staggered to the bar, holding on to fences and walls lining the way. She could feel her mouth fill with blood and it was slowly dripping out between her lips, leaving a trail of dark red spots.

When she made it to Shorty's, up the stairs and through the doors the wall of noise hitting her upon entry almost made her faint. Why was her head hurting so much? Why couldn't she speak?

Before she could fall over, Dolls and Wynonna steadied her and led her to a chair.

She could see from everyone's expression that she must look terrible.

The next thing she could remember was Waverly Earp's face, her eyes filled with tears.

After that it's just blackness.

—

"We tried to contact her next of kin but we could only find a aunt that apparently didn't have contact with the family since before Miss Haught was born."

"No parents, no siblings?"

"Nothing."

"So what happens now?"

"Well the hospital will do anything necessary to get her back to good health. After that it'll be probably some physical therapy, if she was attacked by someone we might refer her to a psychologist. She has pretty good health insurance through the Army so it'll all be taken care off.

And she's in good hands here."

"Okay, but what if she needs someone to like… help her or something, I don't know. I mean, there's no way she can go through that alone. Are you sure there isn't anyone else besides that Aunt?"

"Ms Earp, we are very thorough. Some people just don't have anyone. And they still end up just fine. She's a trooper."

Waverly looked over to the Nicole's hospital bed. The redhead looked like hell but underneath that cut, the black eye and the wires in her jaw she was still so beautiful and strong.

"I will check in again with her later." The doctor left and Waverly fought to hold back the tears.

Nicole was out for almost three days. The painkillers were strong and she was never awake long enough to realize what was happening. Three days Waverly sat by her bed during the day and slept on the arm chair in the corner during the night. Wynonna came by once or twice to check on her, telling her to go home and get some proper rest.

"She's alone Wynonna, imagine this would happen to you and I wasn't there. Dolls wasn't there. Gus wasn't there. Even you'd be scared."

Wynonna couldn't say anything.

"I… I don't know her that well, but I think she trusts me and I think she needs a friend and I can be that friend, maybe. Just trust me on this, okay?." Waverly was leaning on Wynonna's shoulder as the both looked out the window. You could see Purgatory and the old mines.

When Nicole finally woke up and saw Waverly sitting in the arm chair, reading a book and looking so content, she couldn't help but watch her turn the pages for a few minutes. At one point she made a disgusted face and let out a puking sound.

It made Nicole laugh and immediately regret it because her whole jaw felt like it had been smashed in with a pipe. Waverly looked up from her book when she heard the laugh and moan, and put her book the side.

"Hey you," she came over to sit next to Nicole's bed. She took her hand in her's and stroked it.

"Hey," Nicole said through clenched teeth. "I cnt pn… pn…upn…ma moth."

"Oh yeah you have metal wires in your jaw because your right side is completely comminuted."

"Wt hppnt?"

Waverly told her about Shorty's, the ambulance ride and how brave Nicole was when they examined her wounds.

"You refused the painkillers at first but then you passed from the pain of them trying to X-Ray your jaw." She had to chuckle at that a bit.

Nicole's face was confused.

"You have a cut wound on your right cheek, it's about 2 inches long. Their plastic surgeon sowed it up very nicely so it shouldn't leave that big of a scar. You jaw is smashed and they wired it together so it can heal properly. You might have problems with that for a while, the doctor said. But you can eat and speak properly soon. You have a black eye but it's not that bad, the swelling already going back a bit. You have bruised rips and a couple of scratches here and there, probably from when you tried to make your way to Shorty's."

The amount of information scared Nicole. Tears began swelling up in her eyes.

Before Waverly could react Wynonna burst through the door.

"I need to talk to you." Her eyes signalled Waverly to go out into the hallway with her.

When they were standing outside the room, out of ear shot from Nicole, Wynonna hesitated.

"What is it? Spit it out". Waverly was eager to know what made Wynonna so nervous.

"They found Nicole's truck."

"What do you mean, found it.?"

"Someone parked it right in front of her house last night."

"What do you mean, someone?"

"It was two blocks from shorty the night she was attacked. But no one bothered with it, until today. When it was moved. And it got written on."

"Okay, so someone beat her up, took her car keys? I mean, if there car isn't gone that's at least something."

Wynonna was looking the floor, hands in her back pocket, obviously nervous.

"Jesus Christ Wynonna what is going on?"

Wynonna handed her her phone. A picture was on the screen. It was a photo of Nicole's truck.

In red spray paint it read "Fuck Army Dykes."

Waverly was sick to her stomach.

When she told Nicole, she didn't get any reaction.

Nicole just looked out the window and swallowed the anger that was building in her throat.

Waverly would have to get used to that silence over the next coming weeks.

—

"What do you mean you don't want to press charges?" Waverly was flabbergasted.

"I just don't want to press charges. I want to deal with this in my own way."

"Nicole, we know who did it. Champ boasted to people about it. He needs to pay for it. Everyone knows it was him. What, you want to mediate away what happened?"

It was a hot day for mid April. Nicole was sitting across from Waverly and Wynonna in one of the diner booths.

If it weren't for the red scar on Nicole's cheek, you wouldn't know she viciously attacked just about a month ago. She was so calm and collected. When Champ got cocky about what he did and Nicole got a call from the police station, she wasn't interested.

Wynonna was worried, but smart enough to not get in the middle of this. If Nicole made her decision that's fine with her.

Waverly was mad. She was furious. She kicked Champ out the bar any time he tried to enter. She shouted at him in the street and the supermarket and at church.

"It's between Champ and me. I don't want to press charges. I want to deal with it in my own way."

"Well I hope you can deal with being a coward!" Waverly shouted, got up and walked out of the diner without paying. Why would Nicole just let this go?

Wynonna looked out the window, her eyes following Waverly who was stomping across the parking lot.

"I'm going out of town for a few days, do you think you could get someone to give my car a new paint job? You send me the bill, the price doesn't matter."

Wynonna nodded.

"Getting away from here doesn't sound that bad. I hope it does you some good. Waverly will calm down, don't worry. Not all of us are vengeful."

Nicole gave her a small smile, put a 20 Dollars on the table, got up and left.

—

She had taken the black metal box that was hidden in the back of her closet. It was a bit dusty, but still in good shape. She always took good care of it. It was her only weapon on a lot of missions. Missions that never happened. Officially.

The sun was just setting and orange light was creeping in through the crack of the wooden panels.

The entrance of one of the old mines, was covered in gold and orange and reached in just far enough, for Nicole to pick out the right tool.

"This is one of my favorites," she said, turning a pair of lineman pliers in her hand. She wasn't angry but rather giddy.

"We'll start with… toes? To ease you in. Finger nails hurt like hell. And I'm not a monster, you know? I can't wait to do your teeth, though. You have such nice teeth…".

For the next few hours, the sound of Champ's muffled screams would echo into the depth of the old mine.

—


End file.
